Rating:  Summary: If you don't find this book hilarious, you've got issues Review: I read the few negative reviews on this book and find them to be from women who seem to be way too "sensitive". It's clearly obvious that Iovine is exaggerating to make us all laugh in most parts of the book. Like the other, more mellow reviewers, I agree that this book only made me feel more relaxed and able to go with the flow during my first pregnancy, and I had a beautiful, healthy, and brilliant 8 1/2 lb baby girl. If you're so uptight that you can't have a good laugh during your pregnancy and you have to be so "proper", then you're right; you shouldn't have read the book. This book only made me feel more comfortable with my feelings and appearance. One last note; regarding the reviewer, Kim O., I consider myself to be an educated woman, and I couldn't agree with you less. You shouldn't attack someone just because they chose a different approach instead of writing yet another clinical book on pregnancy. There's plenty of those out there already, and I doubt those books were written for the author's health either (instead of a "fast buck"). Lighten up already.
Rating:  Summary: Great book for daddy too! Review: My husband and I read this book aloud to each other during my pregancy. We would lay on the bed howling with laughter! I think it gave my husband a more realistic perspective than all of the "expectant father" books we bought, and it was certainly more entertaining that the other 26 "expectant mom" books I bought. (Yes...it was my first baby...) An extremely enjoyable read for both of us.
Rating:  Summary: A MUST READ to balance the What to Expect books!! Review: I LOVED this book! I read it during my first pregnancy and I'm already half way through it in the first month of my second! I took it in small doses last time, because I was a little freaked about the whole experience, but it is full of the FUNNY and TRUE indiosyncracies of pregnancy. Other books can make you feel inadequate and less than the perfect birthing vessel--Vicki NEVER does that. Read it. It will make you laugh, give you confidence, and remind you that you are not alone--no matter what crazy reactions you and your body have to that little babe inside you.
Rating:  Summary: Disappointing Review: I received this book as a pregnancy gift, and I can only say that I'm glad I didn't pay for it. I applaud the concept of examining the lighter side of pregnancy, but I found this book to be completely superficial. Iovine is clearly OBSESSED with her physical appearance . . . she mentions repeatedly throughout the book how thin she was before her pregnancy, and most of the pages are devoted to her ongoing concerns about her looks during and after pregnancy. Of course this is a concern for most pregnant women, but I hardly think it's the most important issue raised by the life-altering miracle of pregnancy and childbirth! Isn't motherhood supposed to make us a little less self-absorbed?!
Rating:  Summary: The Lighter Side of Pregnancy Review: This book was wonderful! I see that many of the reviewers thought that the author concentrated too much on the superficial, but that is why this book works. This is not your reference book for medical issues - I had plenty of books (and my doctor) to provide me the serious information. This book deals with the things you feel too frivilous to ask - like body changes, strange mood swings, when to tell. Give yourself a break from the clinical and have a good laugh!
Rating:  Summary: Every Newly Pregnant person should read this Review: I loved this book. As a newly pregnant person, I was so happy to find a book which made me feel like I was not alone. I feel okay not look like the model on the "Fit Pregnancy" magazine cover now. I definately recommend it.
Rating:  Summary: I would return it if I hadn't thrown away the receipt Review: I bought this book for myself, along with "The Expectant Father: Facts, Tips, and Advice for Dads-To-Be" for my fiancee. While his book actually contains practical and interesting advice; this one is just a bunch of superficial complaints from someone who obviously takes pregnancy for granted. "The Girlfriend's Guide..." is probably just the thing if your relationship is based on looks and money instead of love and support ("my husband will leave me if I stop dyeing my hair during the pregnancy"), but for the rest of us, it doesn't provide any helpful information at all.
Rating:  Summary: Excellent Book Review: This book was excellent, informative and very entertaining. Definitely a must read for first time mothers.
Rating:  Summary: Just what I needed! Review: This was one of several books I recently purchased within a week of finding out that I am pregnant with my first child. It is only one of two that I am currently reading. The book's light-hearted approach and the laughs are just what I need. It covers so many little things that I did not even know about. So many of my friends had their children in their 20's and as our lifestyles changed to reflect their family involvement, we drifted apart & so I really have little first-hand knowledge of childbirth & everything leading up to it. I will be 33 by the time my baby is born & I feel like I need to go back to school to make up these lessons! Thank you Vicki for a book that has done much to entertain & teach all at the same time. Maybe it's not for everyone but I highly recommend that everyone at least give it a try before putting it down. This is definetly a time in my life when a good laugh goes a long way!!!
Rating:  Summary: Pregnancy, Beverly Hills-style Review: Hey girlfriend, this is definitely not worth reading. For anyone of us who grew up in middle-class suburbia, we probably attended public schools, state colleges, and married men of similar backgrounds. Iovine apparently has had everything handed to her on a silver platter, and she appears to take each blessing for granted (money, marriage, children). She passes on this sordid "wisdom" in her shallow, misinformative, dark book on pregnancy. The things she's most concerned with are her hairstyle, weight, and wardrobe content. For those of us who were not voted prom queen in our younger days, this depiction is ridiculous and offensive, not to mention unrealistic. While the book does have some cutesy little laughs about hemorrhoids, gas and stretch marks, what woman doesn't already know about this? Iovine provides little or no factual base for her statements on the avoidance of exercise and natural childbirth and her suggestion that the occasional glass of wine is not harmful to the fetus. Heaven only knows how she, her husband and her children survived her 4 pregnancies. I read through many of the reviews for this book, and agree with those educated women who said that she likely wrote this book to make a fast buck, probably to prove a thing or two to her seemingly insensitive, dim-witted, big bucks producer husband. She also probably addressed the weight issue (over and over again) to deal with her own personal demons and possibly her insecurity. If pregnancy were really this bleak, the world's population would be a heck of a lot smaller. Do yourself (and your unborn child) a favor. Buy a book with a healthy balance of humorous and factual content. Don't read a book that will make you feel ashamed of the way you look and inconvenienced by the beautiful baby inside of you. Some of us have been trying (for years!) to have one of our own and can't wait for the day to enjoy every moment with our own baby. Pregnancy is a miracle, not a nuisance. (Having your teeth cleaned, doing your taxes...those are hassles!)
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